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Protest in Delhi to protect cultural heritage in Saudi Arabia

New Delhi: In a clear message to the Government of Saudi Arabia, several Muslims in India today demanded here that the Saudi regime must sign a treaty with all the governments of the world and assure in clear terms that no damage will be done to the cultural heritage of Muslims and sacred signs of Islam in the Saudi kingdom.

This was communicated in a memorandum to the Embassy of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after a peace march at Jantar Mantar which was addressed by Maulana Syed Mohammad Ashraf Kichhouchhwi, General Secretary of the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board and others.

Other speakers including Syed Babar Ashraf, National Secretary of the Board expressed their anger against a move to deface the tomb of Prophet Mohammad and demanded that Saudi Government must sign a treaty with the government of India and other governments assuring that no damage shall henceforth be done to any monument of Islam in India.

Maulana Mohammad Ashraf Kichhouchhwi also demanded that all the bulldozed cultural monuments and signs of Islam including Jannatul Baqee and Jannatul Moalla must be restored and developed and decorated accordingly.

The gathering was also of the view that Indian officers sent to Saudi Arabia during Hajj are selected on the basis of their ideology and Wahabis are given charge of the Hajj affairs who have till now demonstrated that they are better suited to serve Saudi/Wahabi interests not the interests of Indian pilgrims.

Maulana Kichhouchhwi also said that Saudi/Wahabi influences can be easily seen in the government bodies of India requiring Muslim representation. Almost all such selections are done on the basis of ideology and Wahabis are chosen to represent Indian Muslim ignoring the very vast majority [almost 80 %].The waqf boards and waqf councils and Hajj committees are by now transformed as the centers of propagation of Wahabism through government machinery.

Maulana Kichhouchhwi, in his speech, also dealt at length with the activities of Saudi authorities. The behaviour with the Indian pilgrims was specially mentioned, when he said that Saudi authorities force Indian hajis to practice Wahabism and stop the pilgrims from performing rituals according to their practices.

In cases even when offering ‘Salaam’ to the Prophet is carried out silently with a view to avoid offending the rulers, the authorities come down heavily.

He said in some cases Indian pilgrims are arrested and humiliated and the Indian officers sent to take care of the pilgrims lend no support to their fellow citizens and willfully allow the Saudis to play their game fearlessly.

He said while in case of other nationalities their hajj officers and staff of embassy or consulate put up resistance and ensures their safety and dignity but this is not the case with Indian officers.

Text of the memorandum

India, home of second largest population of Muslims all over the world, with a well recognized and rich Sufi culture contributing to the peace, amity and tolerance in the society, occupies a high place in the comity of Muslim nations.

Indian Muslims are aggrieved over the intention and impending move to deface the Tomb of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in holy city of Madinah and demand that the government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia should assure the world including the government of India that they are not going to do any harm to any of the Islamic signs and sites in their country.

It is to be noted that Indian pilgrims going to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia are often not allowed to perform the rituals according to their profession and established practices. They are coerced to practice the infamous Wahabi ideology against their own beliefs. The Indian officers deployed to take care of the pilgrims on most of the occasions side with the Saudi Authorities and do nothing substantial to help Indian hajis in performing hajj on the rightful lines of the age old Sufi tradition/practice. It is because the selection is done at the behest of Wahabi organisations and government authorities send those officers who themselves are also the practitioners of extreme Wahabi ideology. These people have gained access to the political, governmental and administrative quarters by duping the Government authorities and faking themselves as the true representatives of Indian Muslims. Let it be also mentioned here that in our beloved nation Wahabism, which endorses extremism, has gradually gained a powerful position by projecting themselves as the real representatives of Indian Muslims, which is totally untrue because more than 80% of the Indian Muslims profess and practice Sunni Sufi ideology which preaches love to human kind. Almost all the bodies of government requiring Muslim representations have been hijacked by these Wahabis and thereby the vast majority of Muslims goes unheard & unrepresented and badly ignored. Let it also be mentioned that Wahabis, getting their foot hold in the corridors of political power are now trying to dictate politics and their activities which started with a socio religious message finally turning into political entity thus becoming threat for the democracy of India and the social fabric of our beloved nation. These elements play with emotions of peace-loving Muslims and arouse the religious sentiments to create chaos and benefit themselves both socially and politically.

All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board, through this memorandum request your kindness to come to the aid of the Indian Muslim community and make the KSA Government to respond about the plans of expansion of Masjid-e-Nabvi [Mosque of Prophet] and other sacred Islamic places in Makkah and Medinah. This is in no way any interference in domestic affairs of Saudi Arabia because these sacred places are center of reverence for the Muslim Ummah all over the world.

It will be in the fitness of things if the Government of Saudi Arabia agrees to issue a White Paper and spells out all about the expansion program and signs a treaty with all the governments of the world assuring not to deface, demolish or destroy any of the signs of Islam and restore all those sacred sites including Jannat-ul-baqee and Jannat-ul-Moallah that have been bulldozed in the last century by the Saudi dictators.

The insanity of the Wahabi-Saudi regime has reached its zenith and now the Tomb of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is under their threat, hence this earnest appeal from this apex body of vast majority of Indian Muslims.

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